Fans of the upcoming movie adaptation of DC's "Shazam" are about to be bamboozled, as James Gunn, director of a famous Marvel movie, has backed arguments that the superhero was the original Captain Marvel.
This was after Zachary Levi, the actor cast to play the wizard superhero Shazam in DC's universe, said that the superhero was originally named Captain Marvel and thus could also be addressed so. Gunn, famous for directing the two "Guardians of the Galaxy" films which takes place in the Marvel universe, has rallied in support of Levi, who was accused by fans of both Marvel and DC of not understanding the role he was about to play, as well as disrespecting Marvel.
Fan sites: @ZacharyLevi calling Shazam “the original Captain Marvel” is not throwing shade at Marvel. He IS the original Captain Marvel.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 1, 2017 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Gunn took to Twitter and commented that Levi was, in fact, correct, meaning that the actor meant no disrespect to fans of both comic franchises and was actually stating the history of the superhero, coincidentally having an original name of Captain Marvel.
For those confused, it was decades ago back in 1939 when Captain Marvel/Shazam and his alter ego, the child Billy Batson was first created by Artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker for Fawcett Comics. This was before DC and Marvel officially existed or had their names rebranded.
However, Captain Marvel/Shazam came under legal trouble when National Comics (former brand of DC Comics), deemed that the superhero was too similar to their poster boy Superman. Further complications arose when Marvel came up with their own Captain Marvel character, a female superhero named Carol Danvers, who was also an Avenger. Fast forward to the 21st century, Captain Marvel was acquired by DC Comics, who then had to change his name to Shazam and also rework him as a wizard to avoid legal trouble or parallels with the Marvel character.
"Shazam" will follow the story of the orphan Billy as he tries to adapt to his newfound powers given to him by a wizard. When he shouts "Shazam!," he will transform into an adult with magic and superpowers, which are more or less on a par with Superman's.
It is not yet clear which child actor will play Billy, but Levi is now hard at work in building up his physique for the adult version of the superhero role. "Shazam" is set to be released on April 5, 2019.
